Combat aside, military service is dangerous in times
of war and peace. Disease and accidents claimed
thousands of casualties in the 19th century army. Additionally, implements of war meant to kill
or maim also claimed casualties outside hostilities. The testing, manufacture, and distribution of
weapons, ammunition, and weapons-related equipment fell to small cadre known as
the Ordnance Department.

Annually, around 65 officers served in the Ordnance Department during the last quarter of the 19th century. Despite being a small department, over 20 ordnance officers died over the same time span. Upon the passing of an officer, the Ordnance Department issued an order eulogizing the deceased. Admittedly, a handful, including Brevet Major General George A. Ramsay (1802-1882), died during retirement. However, several were accidentally killed performing their duty.

The obituaries were differentiated from other orders by a thick black page border. While indexing these orders the words “killed by the bursting of a shell, on October 21, 1886, at the Proving Ground, Sandy Hook, N.J.” popped out. What caused this accident? While answering this question the names of other soldiers involved came to light.

“An officer of fine abilities and
great professional zeal”

The subject of the memoriam mentioned above was 1st Lieutenant William Morgan Medcalfe. Born in Maryland, Medcalfe entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1872. In 1876 he was appointed a 2nd lieutenant in the 4th Artillery. One of the many responsibilities of the Ordnance Department was defending the nation’s sea coast. Mortars were an integral part of that defense system. In the fall of 1886, Medcalfe was on duty at Sandy Hook, New Jersey supervising test firing of a 12-inch breech loaded mortar.

Scene of the Accident

At 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 21, 1886 Medcalfe’s team prepared for another test fire. What happened next was summarized in two articles written by otologist Dr. Samuel Sexton and contemporary newspaper accounts. By the late 19th century Dr. Sexton was an aural surgeon who “devoted special attention to the study and treatment of diseases of the ear”. His research on tear trauma caused by explosions led him to the Medcalfe incident. Through eye witness accounts, Dr. Sexton reconstructed the accident. The following drawings (profile and plan view) depict the positions of nine of the men just prior to the explosion.

The positions of the men at the time of the shell explosion on October 21, 1886. Modified from Figure 1 published by Dr. Sexton in his article published in Science.-Supplement (April 8, 1887).Plan view showing the positions of the men at the time of the shell explosion on October 21, 1886. Modified from Figure 2 published by Dr. Sexton in his article published in Science.-Supplement (April 8, 1887).

Correspondents from the Washington,
DC newspaper Evening Star spoke with
senior Ordnance Department officers. Those
officers evidently spoke with eyewitnesses who presented the following
account. Private King was closing the plug
at the base of the mortar shell. The
shell weighed 585 pounds and was just filled with 27 pounds of rifle
powder. The threaded plug did not turn
properly and per protocol, King rapped it with a hammer. The ordnance officers theorized that “one or
two grains of powder probably caught in the thread of the screw plug, and that
these ignited at the blow of the hammer.”

The explosion blew Private King 55 feet away from the shell, killing him instantly. Incredibly, Lieutenant Medcalfe, standing at the base of the shell, survived 30 minutes after being blown 22 feet away. His injuries were quite severe. The Fairfield News and Herald (South Carolina) reported that he lost his right leg and his left leg was shattered. The explosion also blew Corporal Clark 15 feet, but he survived. Abbott, Burns, Cramer, Cunningham, Ingram, and Sinclair all managed to stay on their feet during the explosion and also survived.

Just an Accident While Performing Routine Duty?

Fittingly, Medcalfe’s body was transported from Sandy
Hook to Brooklyn on the tug named Ordnance. He was then buried in a family plot at
Green-Wood Cemetery. Whereas the
Ordnance Department published a memorial for Medcalfe no such order was issued
for the Swiss-born Private King. And,
surprisingly, the incident is not referenced in the annual report of the Chief
of Ordnance. Likewise, orders issued by
the Ordnance Department did not convene a board or court of inquiry to
investigate the explosion. It appears that the military simply
wrote the incident off as an accident incurred during routine, albeit
dangerous, Ordnance Department duty.

This article started out as a simple quest to learn
more about the death of Lieutenant Medcalfe, whom, I thought, was the only
casualty of the “shell burst.” As it
turned out the accident affected eight other individuals, including nine enlisted
soldiers. Further research identified
the names of the people involved in the mishap.
Importantly, the accident illustrates the daily interactions of officers
and enlisted men. The Civil War was,
arguably, the defining event in 19th century U.S. history. Nearly everyone alive during that conflict
had a connection with the Old Army. Dr. Sexton,
for example, briefly served as an assistant surgeon in the 8th Ohio
Infantry between July 1861 and October 1862.

Old Army Records’ comprehensive indexing strategy allows researchers to link people, places, events, and various other military subjects. Our search capabilities comb various 19th century sources, generated by government and civilian organizations, to compile in-depth military service records of soldiers from that period. As our indexing progresses we hope to uncover more about the individuals involved in the mortar shell explosion on October 21, 1886. For instance, did the accident factor into the court martial of Private Burns just seven months after the accident? We will update this story as new information comes to light.